Appeal Dismissed, Musa Hassan Must Pay RM250,000 To Hannah Yeoh
PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today ruled that former Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan, must continue to pay RM250,000 in damages to Hannah Yeoh in connection with defamatory statements made against the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories).
In addition, Musa was also ordered to pay legal costs amounting to RM50,000.
A three-judge panel chaired by Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang dismissed Musa’s leave to appeal application after finding that the legal questions raised did not meet the conditions under Section 96 of the Courts of Judicature Act 1964.
In her decision, Rhodzariah said that after hearing submissions from both parties, the court unanimously dismissed the notice of motion because it was not satisfied that the threshold conditions under Section 96 had been met.
“In our view, the questions raised do not reach the level of legal questions of public interest,” she said when delivering the decision.
On October 17, 2025, the court had completed hearing the appeal arguments from both parties.
The case began when Hannah, who was then Youth and Sports Minister, filed a lawsuit against Musa in 2020 regarding statements allegedly defamatory of her when he spoke at a forum at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM).
Hannah claimed that Musa, in his speech, among other things, accused her of writing her book titled ‘Becoming Hannah’ with the aim of making Malaysia a Christian country, having connections with Christian and Jewish missionaries to undermine Islam and Malaysia, including prioritising her personal interests over the country.
She also claimed that Musa accused her of prioritising personal interests over national interests.
On December 23, 2024, the High Court dismissed Hannah’s lawsuit after finding that she had failed to prove that Musa’s statements were defamatory.
However, on January 13, the Court of Appeal set aside that decision and ruled in Hannah’s favour, ordering Musa to pay RM250,000 in damages as well as additional costs of RM60,000 after finding that the statements were defamatory.
Malaysia Gazzete